Not too long ago, Kansas-born Katie, like hundreds of other young hopefuls, came to Hollywood hoping to make it big. While visiting the Westside German Shepherd Rescue in Los Angeles one day, she came across Georgie, a six week old puppy that has since made a huge difference in her life. She says, “Georgie was the quietest, sweetest angel. She immediately curled up and wanted to be close.”

After they both survived the first six months of puppyhood, Katie says they “made it through house training, ankle biting, and turning each others’ lives upside down to become completely bonded.”

Amid the stress of Hollywood, work, and homesickness, Katie has since come to find strength and peace through her 100-pound companion, and says that Georgie remains the most important thing in her day. They spend as much time as they can together jogging, hiking, and hitting the beach.

[image used with permission from katie/abcfamily]

Post from: Blisstree

Rescue Pup Changes Young Star’s Life

The First Family have finally decided on a dog breed — Michelle Obama has said they’ve narrowed down their search to a Portuguese water dog.

The First Lady said the dog will be arriving in April after the family return from their Spring Break vacation with daughters Malia and Sasha. They’re looking for a rescue (yay!) who is “old enough and a match for the family dynamic.”

“Temperamentally they’re supposed to be pretty good,” she says of the breed that Sen. Ted Kennedy has also lobbied for (he has two Water dogs of his own). “From the size perspective, they’re sort of middle of the road – it’s not small, but it’s not a huge dog. And the folks that we know who own them have raved about them. So that’s where we’re leaning.”

What will keep Americans on the edge of their seats once the dog makes it to the White House? Naming it, of course!

“Oh, the names are really bad. I don’t even want to mention it, because there are names floating around and they’re bad,” Mrs. Obama says with a laugh. “You listen and you go – like, I think, Frank was one of them. Frank! Moose was another one of them. Moose. I said, well, what if the dog isn’t a moose? Moose. I’m like, no, come on, let’s work with the names a little bit.”

[image: flickr]

Post from: Blisstree

Presidential Pooch Coming Soon

This is so sweet: Actor Mickey Rourke’s beloved 18-year-old chihuahua Loki passed away suddenly last week, just a day after Mickey had told a gossip rag that he planned to take the little dog to the Oscars with him.

Mickey found a way to bring Loki with him just the same with a sweet little picture pendant necklace, which he wore to both the Academy Awards and the Independent Spirit Awards. During a red carpet interview he said he’d trade in any award for more time with little Loki:

“It’s bittersweet. I said to myself I’d rather have Loki for another two years than an Oscar. And I told her that. But she stayed as long as she could, you know,” he said sadly. “She’s the love of my life. She made it until six days ago. She left me at a time where, after 18 years, she knew I’d be all right.”

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go cuddle a chihuahua of my own.

Post from: Blisstree

Mickey Rourke Honors Loki at the Oscars

The new First Family have narrowed down their choices for the type of breed they’d like their dog to be, either a Labradoodle or a Portugese water hound.

President-elect Obama said they’re going to wait a little bit after the inauguration before checking out shelters, and told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that “This has been tougher than finding a commerce secretary.”

Post from: Blisstree

The Obamas Narrow Down Dog Breed Choices

For January only when you pick up a bag of specially marked Purina Dog or Puppy Chow you’ll get a calendar featuring 12 behind-the-scenes pictures of the movie, including Marley, the adorable Labrador Retriever.

Click on the image over to the right to see a bigger example of what the calendar looks like. Isn’t that cute?

Post from: Blisstree

Get Your Own ‘Marley and Me’ 2009 Calendar

It’s always so sad when a pet dies. The Bush family is mourning the death of their beloved black cat, India, this week.

The 18 year-old (wow!) female cat died Sunday at the White House.

“The President, Mrs. Bush, Barbara, and Jenna are deeply saddened by the passing of their cat India,” the office of First Lady Laura Bush said in a statement on the White House Web site.

“India was a beloved member of the Bush family for almost two decades. She will be greatly missed.”

At 9 years old, the Bush girls named the cat “India” after Ruben Sierra, a former major league baseball player whose nickname was “El Indio.” The Bush family have two other pets, Barney and Miss Beazley, both Scottish Terriers.

Post from: Blisstree

Beloved First Family Pet Passes On

Below I’ve listed a few of the most popular posts for the Food Bowl – did I include yours?

• Can dogs read our emotions?
• PediPaws nail trimmer review
• Pets in the White House
• Uno the beagle makes history
• Rachael Ray feeds your pets (and then launches Nutrish, her own line of dog food)
• Toxic and Non-Toxic plants for pets
• Make your own Frosty Paws ice cream
• Pets and vacation preparation
• Cat crackers
• Princess Chunk, one fat cat
• Toy ball causes severe damage to Chai the dog
• Smartest and dumbest dog breeds
• Ratchet gets to come to the US

[image: flickr]

Post from: Blisstree

The Best of the Food Bowl 2008

Vice President-Elect Biden’s German Shepherd puppy finally has a name! The upcoming VP let his grandkids name the dog, and they chose Champ.

Biden says the name is special to him since it’s what his father used to call him as a child.

Unfortunately over the last several weeks rumors have run rampant that the breeder Biden purchased the puppy from has several violations, though Biden’s rep has said the allegations are false. It’s always something, right? However, Biden has also said his family plans to adopt a second dog from an animal shelter a little later.

Post from: Blisstree

Vice Presidential Pup Gets A Name

Vice President-elect Biden is bringing a three-month-old male German Shepherd puppy to Washington. He picked out the puppy from a breeder in Philadelphia yesterday.

Over the next few weeks the puppy will be housebroken and trained before making its way to live with the Vice President and his wife Jill after next month’s inauguration. Biden told the breeder that he’ll be letting his grandchildren pick out the pup’s name.

Still no word on what kind of dog will be joining the Obama family!

Post from: Blisstree

Vice President-Elect Biden Picks Out a Pup

One of the “most important issues” that President-elect Obama spoke about in today’s news conference was what kind of dog his family plans to get!

He said there are two major factors, the first being that daughter Malia is allergic and they’d need a so-called “hypoallergenic” dog, and the second being that they’d like to get a shelter dog. However, the two don’t usually mesh well together (you can’t usually get too specific about what dog you’d like from a shelter) so they’re still weighing options.

One of the most popular hypoallergenic dogs being talked about is a poodle, which don’t shed as much and which the family has apparently expressed interest in in the past.

What do you think? What kind of dog would the new first family get?

Post from: Blisstree

President-Elect Obama Defines Criteria for Family Dog